TL;DR: Heavy rains are washing away my garden soil faster than I can build it. I need your collective permaculture wisdom to help me capture and slow this water while creating productive spaces for food and animals.
THE CHALLENGE: This property is simultaneously blessed and cursed – 52 inches of annual rainfall (including brutal 2-3 inch deluges) on slopes that go from 10% to 30% before dropping into gullies. The water rushes through like it’s late for an appointment, taking my precious topsoil with it. Shallow bedrock + low clay content = pond construction seems challenging.
THE DREAM: Transform this into a productive homestead with:
- Multiple garden areas (I’m a row crop person, sue me 😅)
- Fruit tree orchard that actually stays planted
- Chickens, rabbits, and maybe goats on the area north of house
- Soil that stays PUT during storms
WHAT I’VE GOT FOR YOU:
- Detailed contour maps (one with legend, one blank for your designs)
- Size: 8.5 acres
- Elevation: 466-590 ft (124 ft drop – that’s a lot of energy to work with!)
- Orientation: North is up on the map
WHERE I’M STUCK: Swales seem obvious, but WHERE? Should I do terraces for the gardens? Should I do a hybrid of both? How do I integrate them with production goals? Are there other water-slowing strategies I’m missing? How do I turn this erosion problem into a water asset?
CALLING ALL WATER WIZARDS: Drop your ideas, sketches, or “have you considered…” thoughts below. I’ll answer any questions and am genuinely excited to see what this amazing community comes up with!
submitted by /u/CypSteel
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